The MongolZ, with dominant performances from mzinho, clinched their fourth international finals appearance this year, propelling them to the Thunderpick World Championship Finals after a decisive 2-0 victory (13-6 on Anubis, 13-9 on Ancient) over 3DMAX in the semi-final round.
For Garidmagnai “bLitz” Byambasuren and his squad, this marks the fourth major final of the year. Before the tournament hiatus, they claimed championships at the YaLLa Compass and MESA Nomadic Masters Spring events and finished second to 3DMAX at the Skyesports Championship back in July.
The French team initially bested The MongolZ in their ESL Pro League Season 20 opener, but The MongolZ came back to win a critical rematch to advance to the playoffs. They have now repeated that performance to secure a best-of-five showdown with HEROIC for the Thunderpick title.
The MongolZ have shown consistent growth since the year began, reaching the top 16 at the PGL Major Copenhagen and rising in rankings with their pre-break titles. While they faced group stage exits at ESL Challenger Jönköping, IEM Cologne, and IEM Rio, a strong 3-4th placement at Elisa Masters Espoo and their recent finals entry in Germany suggest they’re regaining their first-half form just in time for the Perfect World Shanghai Major Asia RMR.
3DMAX struggled from the outset on their map choice of Anubis, as mzinho delivered a stellar defensive performance (20-8 K-D, 181.7 ADR, 2.62 rating), securing a 10-2 halftime lead for The MongolZ. Bryan “Maka” Canda managed a 1v3 clutch ace in the second pistol round, offering 3DMAX a short-lived comeback opportunity, but The MongolZ swiftly wrapped up the map once they re-armed.
The match on Ancient was similarly intense. Although 3DMAX won both pistol rounds and conversions, they faced difficulty in gun rounds. bLitz and mzinho spearheaded a 7-5 lead by halftime, and with support from Munkhbold “Senzu” Azbayar, they exploited 3DMAX’s late-round errors to close the series at 13-9.
